Quidditch, Potions, and Pussycats
by Feefola
Summary: The savior of the wizarding world is literally in the closet, while the women in his life are off wooing older men. Where exactly can this go wrong? GW/OW HG/SS a plethera of smutty fun!
1. Chapter 1

Hey everybody! I realize that many of you may shun me due to my *cough* epic slowness in updating… I know 3 years is pushing it. But here it is happily so edited and back underway.

SIDE NOTE: I OWN NOTHING… wish I did, but I don't

Chapter One

As Ginny picked her scattered books up from the empty hall she started thinking of what she really wanted to do with her life. She had spent 17 years of her life obsessed and focused on one thing and one thing only… Harry Freakin' Potter. She probably would still be obsessed with him to, if she hadn't just walked in on him and her brother making out in the broom closet. What Percy was doing at Hogwarts was one thing, why the hell he was making out with "the boy who was apparently gay" was a whole other thing. It was Ginny's 7th year, but the so-called 'golden trio' had returned to finish out Hogwarts, along with most of their class, so she knew she would spend a significant amount of time in classes with Harry. She just couldn't figure out how she was going to not say anything to him. It had taken a long time to rebuild the castle after the battles were settled, and her family had been surprisingly lucky when it came to casualties in the war, only loosing Fred in the end. Harry had been with them since then, and she had thought that he was meant for her. He was always protecting her, making sure that she was ok. He had told her he just needed time, that it was just the aftereffects of the war. Apparently no one told him that liking cock wasn't an aftereffect. When she had finally gotten past the shock of what she was seeing, she had just run. Moving as fast as her feet could carry her she had even left the closet door wide open so all could see them. She had made it almost clear across the castle before she tripped over that damn cat.

Said cat was now circling around her, watching her pick up the last of her things from the stone. "You could try to help me you know." The cat moved itself in front of her, and batted a stray book towards her as though it understood what she had been saying. "That's more like it." Though that was the only thing that cat did to help her before it started circling her again.

As Ginny reached for her transfiguration book the cat stopped dead in its tracks, and started butting its head against her leg. "What are you hungry or something? Don't you have an owner to annoy?" Ginny grabbed the last book from the floor, and stood to continue to her dormitory. She had only walked a few feet before turning to look at the cat now sitting where she had been before. Its eyes were looking up towards her almost hopefully. "Well are you just going to sit there, or are you coming with me?" The cat seemed to think for a second, and then trotted up to her, its warm brown eyes looking up at her as she strode towards her dormitory.

As Ginny traveled the rest of the way across the castle she tried to wrap her mind around everything. She knew that Harry wouldn't intentionally hurt her, so it had to have been something that he'd been struggling with. There had to be a reason, something that would keep him from telling her, maybe she really was just his best friends little sister. The annoying fourth wheel that he just felt obligated to protect.

Ginny didn't bother looking around the common room as she entered, she knew that Hermione would be in the library, Ron in the kitchens or on the overgrown Quidditch pitch, and Harry was locked in a closet with her brother… her damn stodgy prissy arse brother. Her feet carried her half way up the stairs to the girl's dormitory before she realized that the cat hadn't followed her. She poked her head down the stairs, to find the cat sitting at attention at the bottom of the staircase staring up at her. "Well are you coming?" The cat let out a small mew before lowering its head to the floor. Ginny made her way down the stairs again, scooping up the little fur ball and carrying him merrily up the stairs. "You know it would be a lot easier if you would just follow me without all the protesting." Ginny laughed a bit as she scratched the top of the cat's head.

Ginny threw her books carelessly atop her trunk before flopping down on her bed, and staring towards the ceiling. How could he be gay and she not know about it. Ginny closed her eyes, but all she could see was Harry's raven black hair in stark contrast with Percy's bright red locks. Ginny's eyes began to water as she thought of all the wasted time, and wasted memories that she had spent on Harry. She spent years upon years fawning over the boy-who-lived and wasting every last ounce of energy hoping that one day he would see her in the light that she saw him in. "You know, I just don't know how I could ever have thought that he would love me. I was so stupid, he is the boy-who-lived, and he fought Voldemort and won. Why would he ever love me, the poor girl down the road who just happens to be Ron's little redheaded freckle faced sister?" Ginny posed the question to the air as she mused through her thoughts. Heaving a sigh she relented, "Oh right… I have the wrong bits apparently".

She was lost completely in her thoughts, so much so that she didn't notice the cat staring intensely at her as it waltzed across her bed and jumped, landing squarely on her thighs. Ginny jolted out of her thoughts, and her eyes met the molten chocolate ones of her new cat. "I suppose I should give you a name. That is, if you intend to stay with me and not run off and trip another unsuspecting girl." At this the pretty cat nuzzled its head against her stomach, then stared back up at her face. "Alright then," Ginny said with a giggle. "How about Rupert?" A growl rose up from the seemingly precious cat. "Ok… Ok… then how about Daniel?" A less impressive growl, but still a growl erupted from the cat once more. "Fine," Ginny closed her eyes to think of something. She listed off a whole slew of more popular wizarding names, including Harry. All elicited a low but strong growl from the little fur ball. "I'm sure that we can come up with something that we both like." Ginny looked around the room, searching for something inspirational. As her eyes wandered over the various piles of miscellaneous junk a shiny black record that Luna had lent her the other day jumped out at her. It's title read _'The Cool Jazz of the Masters' _she mused over using one of the musicians names. Though, all the odd muggle music on it was a bit weird. That particular type of music was a little interesting, and a bit unique. However, whenever she heard the high pitched squeal of those little brass things she couldn't help but hum along. "What about Jazz?" The cats head tilted to the side a bit, and then a meow of approval left his mouth.

"Alright Jazz, now what do you think I should do about Harry?" Jazz made a small circle on her lap, before settling his head on her knee, to listen. "At least I don't have to deal with him all on my own. I've always got someone with me when I see him." Ginny mused on speaking absently to Jazz as she thought through her problems. She always found it comforting to talk about her problems aloud. It was almost as if it helped her work through her problems with a little more ease then when she kept her thoughts locked in her brain. Ginny slowly ran out of things to say, so she just sat, her hand gliding through Jazz's sleek coat. She had just about drifted off to sleep when Hermione burst in the door, shocking her out of her light sleep.

"GINNY! What are you doing in bed?" Hermione's chest heaved with ragged breaths, as though she had run all the way from the library, which it was most likely she had. The moment Hermione stepped through the heavy oak doors of Hogwarts she had holed herself up in the library. In her eyes she was a whole year behind where she should've been. "Never mind, you can't miss dinner!" Ginny rolled her eyes at the woman who was notorious for missing dinner herself.

"Oh, and why Oh-Brilliant-One, am I required to go to dinner?" Ginny let out a startled yelp as Jazz darted from her lap as she mentioned dinner and trotted hastily out the door.

"Who was that? Never mind… you have to come because Dumbledore is making a VERY important announcement." Ginny groaned as she rolled her legs off the bed and stood.

"When is Dumbledore not making a very important announcement?" Ginny stretched as she stood, glancing out the door where Jazz had left through. "The stairs must me malfunctioning again." Hermione's gaze went passed her to see that the stairs had flattened to a shiny slick slide.

"Well at least that makes going down more interesting, and you know that it's important we give Dumbledore all the support we can." Ginny nodded, she knew that some of the remaining ministry officials were having troubles adjusting to the post-war circumstances.

"Fine, but I still don't want to actually go. I mean what could be so important that all of us need to be there? Plus you could always just fill me in later." Hermione sent Ginny her token glare that had been rumored to rival even Snape's.

"Ginevra Weasley, you know that it is my duty as head girl to insure that all rules and requests by the headmaster are fulfilled by students. That and I AM NOT going to dinner with those two buffoons all by my lonesome… So move your arse." Ginny just shrugged in defeat before Hermione herded her out the door and down to the common room.

…...

The new and improved Great Hall was scattered with all the students that were currently attending Hogwarts. This normally would've filled each and every inch to the max, but after the war less families felt comfortable sending their children away from home for long amounts of time, even with Dumbledore running things again. Though it did still unnerve a few that a ghost was the headmaster of the school. Not many understood why McGonagall had stepped down when he had appeared, only those who knew of the romantic relationship that had been brewing between the two over the last century. She had cried for a solid week after the war was over, grieving for him finally after all that time. It was half way through the renovations that he appeared; they had been rebuilding one of the outer walls protections when he just popped in out of nowhere in certain Dumbledore fashion.

As Ginny nibbled at her toast she could feel Harry's worried eyes on her every so often. "Harry, mate, what's wrong with you today?" Ginny's eyes flicked from Harry to Ron then back to her plate.

"Nothing, I just… no, it's nothing. Promise." Harry's eyes stayed glued to his plate.

"Harry, I hate to say this, but Ron is right. You look as though something is really bothering you. You know you can…" Dumbledore's booming voice rang through the hall, cutting off Hermione's words.

"Pleasant evening all!" The smiling mildly transparent form of Dumbledore drifted through the staff table where he sat watching over the hall. "I know that you are all wondering why I have asked you to gather tonight. I have a rather surprising, and hopefully happy announcement to make." As Dumbledore began to open his mouth, a rather loud bang rang from the back of the hall. A slightly disheveled figure emerged from the door, and strode towards the front of the hall. "Ah, Mr. Wood. Just in time." The collective hall turned towards the figure of Oliver Wood, and some girlish gasps rang through the hall at his appearance. Most had heard the horrors that happened to him during the war, but none had actually seen it in person. He was still the same, but there were a few small changes that you could tell immediately. His skin was paler, but that wasn't the surprising thing it was the small scars that etched their way across his strong face. His chiseled jaw was notched in a few places, giving him an almost terrifying look. His eyes were still just as sexy and smoldering brown as before, but they had taken on a harder, wiser look. "Mr. Wood will be heading up our new task." Heads snapped back to Dumbledore as he began speaking again. "We are going to start up the Hogwarts Quidditch teams again, with a bit of a twist." The moment the word Quidditich was uttered Ron jumped on the bench with a hand in the air and screamed.

"Yes! FINALLY!" Harry pulled Ron back down to the bench, but Dumbledore smiled knowingly in his direction, though his smile turned to a frown as Hermione stood with a huff and turned to walk away. "Hermione, where are you going?" Ron's musing was caught throughout the whole hall as heads turned to the bushy haired witch.

"While I am utterly glad that everyone will have something fun and exciting to do while they are putting off studying, I need to get back to the library. I've been away from school for too long as it is, and I need to catch up on my work." With a swish of her robes Hermione disappeared from the room, leaving everyone in a stunned silence except for Dumbledore, who expected this from his star pupil. Snape sneered as Dumbledore's transparent eyes still managed to twinkle at the sight of such a common display among the castle.

Snape would never admit in public that it was thanks to that certain bouncy brunette that he had managed to live after Nagini bit him. He was however constantly reminded of that fact, as a sudden jolt of pain would shoot up from the still slightly toxic puncture wounds. She had risked her life and her friend's lives to apparate him (illegally he might add) to just outside the Hogwarts grounds, then somehow managed to get him to his lab. The venom had paralyzed him instantly, but Hermione had known from years of 'borrowing' things from his stores that a single boazer stone laid in a hidden back corner. She had rushed in, and forced the stone down his throat, saving him. The site of the puncture wounds however had never healed quite right; leaving jagged white marks the size of quarters on his neck. Every so often he would catch Hermione staring at him during class. He figured that she regretted saving him, it wasn't as if he had ever done anything for her. Now however he owed her a life debt, and she would have to set those terms for him. He hadn't even gotten up the nerve to thank her, which most figured was just him being snarky. For all intensive purposes he was still pretending to be the bastard he had always been while he was working for Voldemort, but really he wasn't always the man most took him to be. He had tried to be nice at the beginning, but found that it was so engrained inside of everyone's minds that he was an evil man that no one took him seriously. He was determined to eventually make someone believe he was an actual human being, and not the heartless bastard that most thought he was. Snape was forced out of his thoughts as Dumbledore spoke again, the image of Hermione drifting to the back of his mind.

"Yes Mr. Wesley, we will _finally_ be starting the teams up again, but there are a few changes. I will leave Mr. Wood to explain the rest however." Dumbledore floated over to stand behind Minerva, a ghostly hand on her shoulder as he relinquished the podium to Oliver.

As Oliver approached the front of the room he couldn't help but shiver under all of the eyes watching him. He looked over to see even Malfoy was staring at him in eager anticipation from the Slytherin table; it was then he realized that these kids really weren't kids anymore, after all they had been through, and all they had seen they needed some joy back in their lives. "I know that you are all undoubtedly excited, but there will be a few more unique features to this set up. We will still have the normal seven person teams, with the 4 teams that will be competing for the cup. Though, there will be a bit of a twist, teams wont only be judged based on the score at the end of the game, but on the technique, and skill throughout the game. These things will all count when it comes to the cup. Myself and a few other past players will judge the talents and skills of the individual players as well as their skills as a team. I realize that this may be a bit of a shock, but it is the way that it will be. I will be making the final decisions on the members of the teams, at tryouts which will be held tomorrow." At this news a stunned silence hung through the air.

"That's not nearly enough time to prepare!" Oliver took in the bright red hair of Ginny Weasley who stood at her table, staring up at Oliver in shock. Her shrill voice reminded him of when Mrs. Weasley use to reprimand Fred, George, and himself after some of their shenanigans, but this girl looked only a bit like her mother. He had seen her in battle a few times, but it was always in passing as one or both of them were shooting off a spell or diving behind a barrier. He now looked at her with fresh eyes, he had never expected for the little sister of his best friends to look… well hot. He took in her battle-toned figure that was only partially obstructed by her robes, and her huge honey flecked brown eyes that stared back at him in defiance. "You cannot seriously expect us to be ready after all this time without playing, in one night!" Oliver took in her form, hands on hips, her lips pursed in anger. He liked how her hair was wild and streaked with strawberry blonde highlights and dark auburn sections, that curled unruly around her head as though she had spelled it this morning, but it was slowly wearing into chaos. It took him a moment to process everything before he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Miss Weasley, the purpose of catching you off guard is to see who of you have the raw unbidden talent to perform as I expect. I am attempting to see who of you are still focused enough to perform admirably. If you do not have the required skills Miss Weasley then perhaps you shouldn't try out." Oliver smirked at Ginny's look as it turned ice cold.

"What time?" Oliver looked straight into Ginny's eyes as she spoke, her words coming out sounding more like _FUCK YOU _than anything else.

"Seven A.M. Sharp." With that Oliver left the stage and passed through the crowds of whispering students and out the door.

Ginny fumed the whole way back to the dorm, as she ran what Oliver had said to her over in her head a million different ways. She was just about to close the portrait of the fat lady when Jazz jumped through the opening, cozying up to her leg and mewing at her. "Hey Jazz. Where did you come from?" The little cat just wound its way around her legs, rubbing against her. "Oh, Well, I think I'm going to bed a bit early tonight. Come on." Ginny scooped Jazz up in her arms, and carried him up to her room, avoiding the ruckus being made in the common room. She didn't know why, but for some reason he really didn't like going up those stairs.

"You know Jazz…" Ginny's voice was muffled as she stripped off her shirt. "…I really hate the fact that Oliver can act so high and mighty, he completely pisses me off." Ginny continued changing out of her school clothes and into her pajama's as she spoke to the fluffy little cat. Ginny looked over at Jazz as she pulled off her bra to find his eyes averted to the bed sheet. "Well aren't you just a little gentleman of a cat." Ginny scooped Jazz up and hugged him to her naked chest before placing him back on the bed and continuing to dress.

"You know what the worst thing about him is though Jazz?" Ginny pulled her oversized Quidditch Jersey over her head then settled herself down on the bed next to Jazz. "He is so incredibly gorgeous. I mean, I want to be really mad at him, but I can't be that angry at a guy that insanely hot, and eloquent." Ginny snuggled down into her bed, and cuddled Jazz to her, stroking his fur as he purred. "He said the most asinine thing to me, yet it was the sexiest thing ever for some reason. Just the way his voice came out of that sexy body and amazing jaw line." The purring coming from Jazz stopped for a moment, as though he was really listening to what Ginny said, before her stroking became too much for him, and he started up again. The light grumbling of the purr lulled Ginny into a deep and fantasy ridden sleep, with the main star being none other than Oliver Wood himself.

...

Oliver wandered quietly through the halls, still unaccustomed to being a staff member. It wasn't long ago that he stole down these same halls to play a prank or swipe something from the kitchens. The latter was his goal for tonight. After his banter with Ginny he had left the hall, completely forgetting to grab some dinner. That little girl was not so little anymore. He hadn't realized quite how much the war had changed her. She was in the thick of things during the battle, he had seen her often enough to know that. He hadn't really taken the time to look at her though. She had nearly knocked him over with that glare of hers, and it wasn't out of fear. Oliver shook his head to try and clear his head as he reached up to tickle the pear. It always seemed odd to him that after all these years they never changed the fruit or made it any more difficult for kids to get into the kitchen.

His head was down as he entered, but snapped to attention as he heard an oddly familiar squeal. "Percy?" There in the dark corner was none other than Percy Weasley, with his hair mussed, no shirt, and his pants unbuttoned.

"Oliver… we… I mean… um… What're you doing here?" Oliver looked around the room, but saw only house elves.

"I could ask you the same question. And what do you mean 'we'?" Percy's head snapped around the kitchen before returning to Oliver. "N… nothing apparently." Oliver gave a knowing glance towards Percy's open pants.

"Ok, Percy." Oliver took a seat at the table and smiled as his favorite elf Winky popped up to him.

"What can I be doing for you Mr. Oli sir?" Oliver couldn't help but laugh at the little elf's pronunciation of his name, though no wizard would understand the muggle police reference.

"Just a sandwich and a glass of pumpkin juice Winky." The little elf bowed low and skittered over to another part of the kitchen. Oliver smiled once more as he turned to Percy who was now sliding his shirt over his shoulders. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I had some of the ministers business to attend to." Oliver snickered at Percy's rather pompous tone of voice.

"Sure… did his business include doing some bird in the kitchens?" Percy's face turned a brilliant shade of red as he looked around once more. "Where did she get off to anyway?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Oliver smiled as he pushed half of the huge roast beef sandwich across the table.

"Of course you don't Perc."

Authors note: Reviews = Love


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any HP characters, plot, or insanity, if I did that would be awesome, but I'm not quite that lucky.

Chapter 2

The quidditch pitch had been transformed overnight thanks to a bit of magic, and some artful grounds work from Hagrid. Oliver stood perched on top of the highest goal post on the far end of the pitch; his broom was draped across his shoulders while he watched the hopefuls file in from the dressing rooms. He couldn't stop thinking of how well he had slept that night. It was the first night he hadn't had nightmares, since the final battle. Everything had changed for him that night; he hadn't expected to survive, especially not after the cutting curse Bellatrix hit him with. His hand subconsciously rubbed at the scars that littered his face. The healers had done all they could to fade them, but like many that fought in the war he would carry the reminder for the rest of his life.

He didn't know who had saved him after that, but he knew that someone had physically tackled Bellatrix off of him. She had been standing on his chest, her heels pressing into his stomach, slowly piercing his skin. He knew even though it was the middle of the war she would make his death as painful as possible. He was shocked when he saw a blur fly at Bellatrix, grabbing her around the middle and tumbling to the ground with her, they let out a few grunts and screams before he lost consciousness. He had asked everyone he could think of if they knew who had saved him, but no one had been able to give him any answers.

He was lost in his thoughts of that night when he was suddenly plunging towards the ground in a swan dive. Quickly snatching his broom from his shoulders, he pulled himself out of the dive before reaching the lowest goal post. He twisted his broom around to find the grinning faces of George Weasley and Angelina Johnson floating menacingly behind the goal post he had recently been occupying. "Wow Wood, here I was thinking you had eyes in the back of your head." Angelina's laugh reverberated through the pitch as Wood beckoned them to follow him towards the recruits.

Landing soundly before the students with Angelina and George behind him Oliver stepped forward to look at the group he had for tryouts. Harry and Ron were there of course, along with Draco and Pansy, both of whom had ended up turning against their families and protecting Hogwarts. Oliver glanced over the crowd noticing a few younger years looking around with awe at the war heroes that surrounded them. After scanning again he realized that Ginny was missing, he hadn't actually meant for her to skip tryouts. Maybe he could postpone things for a while until he could track her down, or give her an alternative try-out.

He was torn out of his musing when a flash of red sped around the stands, weaving in and out of the posts at a reckless speed, before landing at the head of the group. She wore a long red fitted tank top over a pair of tight black leggings that ended in a pair of deep red Quidditch boots. Her hair was tamed into a sleek pony tail that bobbed with the slightest movement of her head. "You're late Ms. Weasley."

Ginny didn't even flinch as she took two steps forward and cast a quick wordless wandless tempus into the area between them showing the time just changing to 7am. "I thought it would be smart to warm up prior to try-outs." With a flick of her wrist the tempus disappeared, though Ginny stood her ground staring Oliver down. "What will you have us do first, Sir?" The words were spoken quickly and she nearly spat out the word 'Sir' as though it was poison.

She had awoken at 5 and sat up straight in bed with Jazz clutched to her chest. Her nightmare of Lucius Malfoy had taken a surprising twist as Wood had burst in just in time to save the day. She found it slightly humorous that both he and Lucius had been wearing nothing but muggle Speedos while dueling, but she wasn't complaining. It was certainly much better than how it had actually ended. Now she just had to ask herself if he really was that delicious unclothed, she had this nagging suspicion that he was even better than her imagination. Jazz gently pawed her face from his position to get her attention as he tried to wiggle free from her grasp. He bumped his head against her arm gently before jumping off the bed and bounding down the stairs towards the common room. She could do nothing more than shake her head at the silly feline's antics and start getting ready for her morning.

Her shower was quick and cold to jolt her muscles awake. Normally she indulged in long hot showers, but today was different. She had to stay focused today, not let Oliver think of her as Fred and George's little sister. She knew that Oliver didn't remember much from the final battle, but she remembered all of it. She had saved countless lives that day, and ended countless more; yet every adult she passed tried to send her to safety. She lost count of how many had pressed their emergency portkey's into her hand in an attempt to get her away from the battle. The refusal to go was normally met with worried glances, but most were then shocked to see her leap over corpses to get to more people who may need her help.

Her mother had almost died at the hands of Alicia Spinnet, thinking her a friend instead of a foe. Most adults didn't think the Gryffindor children capable of the malicious tasks that were set among the Slytherins. Unfortunately for many, a small group of Gryffindor alums had been convinced by Voldemort that they should fight for his side. That was the first time Ginny had cast the killing curse that day, but it wasn't the last. Her mother had embraced her after that, telling her simply to be safe and trust no one. She fought hard that day, and had the scars to show for it, though walking through the school no one would know she had even been touched. A majority of it was hidden underneath her robes; the rest was fixed up with a long lasting glamour she put in place every morning. Few had actually seen what the war had done to her; even her brothers were oblivious to what she had gone through. Only her mother. Hermione, Madam Pomfrey and a portion of Mediwitches from St. Mungo's had ever seen her wounds and the scars both internal and external that she bore from them.

George watched with pride as his little sister stared down his best friend, challenging him to give her his worst. He knew she was an amazing flyer, and would make a great seeker. She had always played a chaser, but she had the speed and agility needed to find the little golden ball. Wood got a mischievous smirk as he eyed up Ginny, this was going to be fun. "20 Wind sprints, goal post to goal post, broom to the sky. Go!" Ginny smirked as she took off at a flat run towards the nearest post, slapped it with her hand then started back the other way, her broom held firmly over her head. Oliver watched as Ginny raced past him again. His eyes were glued to her chest as it bounced with each step, until his mind forced him back to the task at hand, causing him to realize the others hadn't moved. "Are you deaf? RUN!" His booming voice snapped all the other recruits out of their stupors as they too ran as fast as they could to the goal post.

Oliver jumped on his broom and floated up to where George and Angelina were waiting. "Why are they running?" Oliver broke into a grin as he turned toward Angelina to answer.

"So I can see how well they perform after they're truly exhausted. They'll take a bit of a physical beating so I can see how their endurance holds up. Plus, it will be easier to tell them that there are no longer house teams, when they're too tired to argue with me." Angelina and George were both nodding along with him. They all knew how hard it would be for some of them to come together and work as a team with those they once thought of as enemies, but house division needed to end. The war had taken a lot out of them, and they should be able to lean on everyone, not just their housemates.

The three started to yell to those that let their brooms fall to their shoulders, and encourage those that fell behind to run faster. It wasn't surprising to them when the 6th and 7th years finished first; their war toned bodies could handle more pressure than the younger students. Oliver was waiting for them however as he gave them 30 seconds to breathe before giving them their next leg. "Run up the stands, once up stairs mount and meet George at the farthest goal post! GO!" as he sent the last bunch off he rose up toward the sky to watch the technical portion of the try-outs. He watched as they spun and dove, flying high into the clouds before plummeting towards the ground. He was shocked at the abandon some of the older students flew with, almost as though they didn't care if their brooms and bones turned to splinters on the hard ground.

It was 4 hours later when they finally they called it. Each student had been forced to demonstrate each position to the best of their abilities before being released. Eventually the younger years were dismissed, leaving only the 7th years left gathered haphazardly on the soft grass of the pitch.

Ginny's tank top clung annoyingly to her torso as she caught her breath, the grass sticking to her sweaty back. She hadn't worked out this hard in almost a year. She stretched her arms over her head and toes towards the ground tightening every muscle in her body before releasing all the tension. She liked to feel her muscles turn to mush after a long flight; it helped to clear her mind of all the clutter.

"Ginny I think we need to talk." Harry's voice cut through her peaceful musing as his shadow covered her face.

"What's there to talk about Harry?"Ginny stood up and started stretching out her arms.

Ginny looked around the pitch, trying to ignore the pleading green eyes that were boring into her. "What you saw Ginny…"

"What Harry? Are you going to give a long explanation about how you were confused? How what, you tripped and landed on Percy's lips?" Her whisper was harsher than she had meant it. "Look, I'm not going to tell anyone if that's what you're worried about." Ginny finally looked at Harry in the eyes, and saw sadness there.

"Ginny I…"

"Gather up guys!" Harry was once again cut off as Wood's booming voice.

"Look we'll talk later Harry ok?" With one last look at him Ginny turned towards Wood.

Wood stood alone, while Angelina and George put the last of the supplies away. He looked at the six 7th years that stood to face him. He was shocked that they were the only ones left. Though he knew Hogwarts took a rather big toll in the war. He looked at every one of them in the face. Harry looked nervous, and kept shooting worrying glances towards Ginny, who was steadily ignoring his existence. It seemed that Ron was much more interested in staring at Pansy, or more correctly staring at the cleavage that her sports bra provided. Pansy simply winked at him before silently hexing his freckles bright green. The color clashed horribly with his hair, and it took most of Oliver's strength not to laugh out loud. Draco hadn't seen the exchange though, so as he turned and scanned the faces of the other hopefuls he let out a slight grunt of laughter before quickly schooling his face back to his cold stone mask. "Now I know how much quidditch means to all of you, and I'm in charge of selecting the team captains." This sparked the attention of everyone, especially Heidi Macavoy the lone Hufflepuff standing in the back of the group.

"But there are no 7th year Ravenclaws who play quidditch. Who's going to be their captain?" Ginny looked around and confirmed Ron's observation.

"It doesn't matter, seeing as there are no house teams this year." Wood looked out at the awestruck faces, and continued before they could argue. "I know it's a shock, but Dumbledore and I decided that a change of pace would be good for everyone. Now, I'll be deciding who is on what team, and we'll be…"

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" Ron's face was a new shade of red, one that even Ginny had never seen. This of course brought attention to the little modification that Pansy had made to his appearance. "I refuse to be on a team with…"

"With who Ronald? With the guy who saved your life? Or with the girl who ran into a burning room in order to save over a dozen first years?" Oliver was shocked as Ginny marched over to her brother. "We need to set an example for the younger years. If we don't then what have we learned from this war other than you can't truly trust anyone." She turned away from him, and Oliver could see a slight sadness in her eyes, before a bit of mirth appeared in them. "Oh, and you should fix your face, the green makes you look ill." Ron's facial expression changed from angry to confused as he reached a hand up to touch his face.

"Ron if you can't work as a team with all of your fellow students then you can leave right now." Woods voice was calm, but spoken with a sense of authority. Ginny had never seen Oliver look so demanding before, his chest out, shoulders straight, and staring at Ron. Her knees went a little wobbly at the thought of him looking at her like that, but within a whole different setting.

Ron's eyes hardened at the thought of not playing quidditch again. "Ginny's right, you all need to work together to bring this school back to its former glory. A lot has changed, and the younger students will look to you to know what to do. Like it or not you are all war heroes and that is how they see you. You are who they will be reading about in their history books. If that's all I just wanted to let you know that teams and captains will be posted outside the equipment stores by dinner tonight. Now if any of you have issues with the list I suggest coming to me first. I realize this is going to be new, and possibly quite difficult to get used to, but I believe that after all you've been through you're strong enough for this." With that Oliver mounted his broom and flew off towards the tower. He had a plan, but Dumbledore would have to give his approval.

Ginny entered the locker rooms with Pansy and Heidi, to shower and change out of their sweaty clothing. Making sure she was hidden behind her locker door she cast a glamour to hide the rest of her scars. She knew she couldn't hold the body glamour long, but she had yet to show everyone what she actually looked like. It wasn't that she was ashamed of her scars, but still today she didn't think anyone would understand. So as she peeled off her top she checked to make sure her glamour was accurate one last time before stepping out from behind her door and unlacing her boots.

"Hey Ginny, could I ask you something?" Ginny's head snapped up. She couldn't recall a time Pansy had ever called her by her first name.

"Sure… What do you need Pansy?" Ginny tried to keep the surprise out of her voice.

"During the battle, did you…?

"Pansy, if you're about to ask me if I killed or saved anyone then stop. I'm not going to tell you." Pansy's face dropped a bit but before she could respond Ginny threw her boots in the corner and pulled off her leggings. "I know you probably don't realize this, but even Gryffindors have secrets." With that she headed for the showers, a towel wrapped loosely around her body.

When she had woken up in St. Mungo's to find everyone questioning her it all seemed so surreal. She had told them she didn't remember much, which allowed her to fade once again into the background. The golden trio was used to the publicity, so she let them deal with it. The world didn't need another teenage war hero.

Ginny stood under the hot spray of the shower trying to wash away her memories, but Pansy just wouldn't relent. "Look, I get that you want your privacy, but I need to have some answers!"

"Pansy you wouldn't want to hear it." Ginny's voice was quiet but harsh as she spoke. "I get that you feel you need answers, but I can't give you them. If you can't respect that, then at least be more Slytherin in finding your answers." With that Ginny turned towards the tile wall of the shower attempting to clear her mind. How could she tell someone, anyone that she had killed their parent, their lover, their sibling, their friend? She had killed out of necessity, not desire. She refused to gloat about ending someone's life, no matter how vicious they were.

She lathered her sweaty hair with a big dollop of shampoo, massaging out all the sweat and grime. Ginny closed her eyes as the hot water beat down on her head, running soapy bubbles down her back. When she finally opened her eyes again she found herself alone in the showers. It was odd; normally she took quick post practice showers, and was the first out of the lockers. Shrugging her shoulders she headed for her locker, twisting her towel up in her hair since no one was around. She was half way between the showers and the locker room when the door flew open. "Ginny I know you told me to… AHHH!"

Ginny was frozen in shock her arm slapped over her chest, and her hand over her crotch. "HARRY! What do you think you're DOING? Ginny shrieked as she flipped her head over, and ripped the towel from her hair throwing it around her body. Harry was standing stock still staring at her.

"Merlin! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just wanted… then you were… so I… and Oh Merlin I'm making a mess of this." Ginny couldn't help but give Harry a small smile.

"Well it is a bit of an awkward situation, I mean for Morgan's sake Harry, you're snogging PERCY! At least pick a brother I like." Ginny sighed a bit at the end, but her slight joke helped ease the tension a bit.

"We aren't… I mean it hasn't been… How can I say this correctly?" Harry took a deep breath as he slid down onto one of the benches. "He was here, and he just kissed me. I couldn't help it Ginny. I'm sorry if you were still waiting for me, but I just couldn't suppress this side of me anymore. I just don't like girls, and trust me, if I did I'm pretty sure that I'd have you on your back right now." Both of them chuckled a bit at that one.

Ginny wrapped her towel a bit more tightly around herself before sitting beside Harry on the opposite bench. She reached out and took his hand in hers as she leaned forward a bit, careful to keep the towel in its place. "Harry I love you, and I always will. I understand what it's like to have to hide something, it isn't easy."

"Ginny you aren't telling me what I think you're telling me are you?" Ginny looked up with a smirk on her face.

"Oh yeah Harry, I've been secretly in love with Hermione since 3rd year. I just can't get enough of her hot bookworm body, and oh how her skirt rides up just right when she crosses her legs… MMM gets me all wiggly and wet." Harry's face twisted into shock before he met Ginny's eyes. They both burst out laughing, clinging to each other's shoulders for support.

"That was amazing Gin." Their laughter subsided as Ginny stood to go to her locker. "So you really are okay with me being… you know?"

"Straight as a rainbow, gay as a pink glitter quill, yeah, I get it. Though I don't know how the world will take their War Hero, the-boy-who-lived-again as the-man-who-sucks-cock."

"Ginny! Where did this language come from?" Harry couldn't hold the small bursts of laughter that broke through as he spoke. Ginny simply shot him a grin before changing behind her locker door. She came out wearing a pair of black shorts and a red low neck t-shirt.

"Muggle movies, dad outfitted my room with a t.v. over the summer. You would be shocked at the things you can find on late night cable." Ginny waggled her eye brows at him then grabbed Harry by the sleeve and pulled him towards the door. "You do know that you can't barge in the girl's locker room whenever you want right, I mean it is a bit awkward. I'm just sayin'." Harry nodded as the left, heading back up towards the Great Hall for a late lunch.

They were half way to the main entrance when Jazz ran out from behind the bushes and jumped up into Ginny's arms assuming he would be caught. "Hey Jazz!" Ginny caught him just as he hit her, and cuddled him into her chest.

"Hm… who's you're lucky friend?" Harry raised an eyebrow at her as he scratched Jazz behind the ears.

"I don't really know, he tripped me yesterday, and decided to stay with me." She rubbed a hand over his up turned belly, and watched as he purred in contentment. "Come on lets go get some lunch. I'm starving after try-outs." Harry nodded in agreement as they continued on their way. Harry held the door for Jazz and Ginny as they entered the hall, sweeping into a cheesy low bow as she passed. "Harry." She groaned lightly smacking him playfully on the arm.

Oliver had fled back to his private rooms after try-outs, ready for a shower and some quiet contemplation after his conversation with Dumbledore about the final teams. He had known as soon as he spoke with the 7th years who would captain, and how the teams would be set up. He was trying to give Slytherin and Gryffindor and even number on each team so neither would attempt to over throw the other. Luckily he knew that the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs tended to stay back a bit from confrontation, so they could acclimate to just about any team dynamic.

He heaved a deep breath as he stepped out of his steamy shower, wrapping a towel around his hips. Every time he stepped out of the shower he surveyed the damage done to his body. His face was filled with scars, a type of spider webbing from the cutting curse, but they went far beyond just that. His chest and back were littered with small white scares, and his right hip had a dark blue crackling scar that would never heal. The scar was concentrated on his side, before dispersing out like lightning across his abs, thigh, back, ass and cock. They couldn't figure out what the curse was, but it didn't hurt anymore, it just gave him an odd blue scar that was etched about 3mm into his skin.

Oliver ran his hand once more over the etched lines of his blue scar before pulling on a pair of old comfy denims. He was relieved when Dumbledore hadn't instituted the strict guideline for professors upon him. Wearing teaching robes and formal dress at all times would've been uncomfortable as hell. He much preferred his soft and worn denims, and a button up to a heavily starched shirt and dress pants.

Buttoning up his deep blue shirt over his dark red t-shirt he looked himself over in the mirror. He didn't often look in the mirror after he dressed, but for some reason he cared about what he looked like more so then before. It was probably just because he knew students would be looking up to him. With a shrug of his shoulders he left for the Great Hall for some lunch before putting the final touches on the Quidditch roster.

Ginny could feel a pair of eyes on her as she bit into her sandwich. She looked around as she swallowed, spotting Oliver with his mouth a gape staring straight at her from the teachers entrance. He wasn't just staring at her though, his gaze kept drifting to Jazz, then back to her, then back to Jazz. Ginny looked down at Jazz and picked him up from his bowl of milk Winky had brought for him, cocking her head in Oliver's direction as she stroked him.

As Oliver seemed to realize that she had noticed him he made his way up to his seat at the teachers table attempting to avoid her now intrusive gaze. She kept her eyes on him for a while, until Jazz seemed to feel left out and began pawing at her face. She put an impatient Jazz back down to his milk, and finished her sandwich sparing Oliver only a few glances, though his eyes seemed glued to his plate in thought.

"Do you think he's trying to decide the teams? I mean he only gave himself until dinner tonight to figure them out." Harry whispered from beside her. "Though, I suppose there are less of us to choose from than there normally would be." Harry's voice was solemn next to her as he stared intently at the crust of his bread.

"Oh, he probably knew who was going to be on what teams before he even had tryouts. I'm sure if he's that focused it must be something really important to him." Harry nodded his agreement and stood.

"Well either way I think I'm going to get a head start on our Potions essay due next week, you up for it?" Ginny simply stood with him and nodded, grabbing her bag and smiling as Jazz trotted along next to them.

Oliver stared after Ginny and Harry knowing that Ginny was going to be the first one in his office when the teams list went up before dinner. Which was good after seeing her with that damn cat, she had some explaining to do. Though he knew he would have a long explanation ahead of him too, considering she wasn't on any of the teams.

A.N. Ok… so small changes nothing to big… and on to Chapter 3


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter anything… Sadface.

Chapter 3

"OLIVER WOOD! YOU HAD BETTER OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!" Dumbledore's transparent head snapped up as he heard Ginny Weasley's voice echo through the halls. Instead of rushing to help out his new staff member however he let out a hearty laugh and kept on his way. It was Oliver's own fault for not informing her prior to the list going up, especially when the list went up only 2 hours after lunch.

Ginny's hand was about to pound on the door again as it swung open causing her to fall forward into empty space. Her hands slammed into the ground, but her war reflexes allowed her to push herself into a shoulder roll to stand. "WHAT THE HELL!" Ginny's outrage was met with nothing but laughter as Oliver stood by his desk doubled over, clutching is stomach. "Stop laughing." Oliver's head snapped up as Ginny's voice turned from outrage to anger. "You are going to tell me right now why my name is not on that list out there." Her eyes were burning into him. He inched away from her slightly, placing the desk between them. "I am the best flyer out there, and you know it!"

"Ginny, have a seat."

"Have a seat? HAVE a SEAT?! I will NOT have a seat until you tell me what the BLOODY HELL is going through your pea sized brain!" Oliver cringed as the yelling started again.

"Ginny I would like for you to coach."

"I was the fastest play… wait what?"

"I want you to coach one of the teams."

"Oh… wow." Ginny sank onto the red leather couch that sat against the wall. "I… I don't know what to say." Oliver stood as Ginny looked on in disbelief. "Why me?"

"I know it's not playing, but you have to understand, you're better than Harry." Ginny's eyes snapped to meet Oliver's. "I couldn't put you on any of the teams and still have a fair competition. Now, don't take this as too much of an ego boost. I can still out fly you any day of the week." Ginny laughed at that.

"You wish Oliver Wood… you wish." Ginny's lip quirked up at the thought of flying with Oliver. "So how is this going to work?" Oliver looked on at Ginny with a bit of shock. He had expected more of a fight out of her, this calmness that he was hearing was eerie.

"Well I could only find George and Angelina to agree to help coach, and we have four teams not three." As he spoke Ginny spent a generous amount of time looking him over. He had always been a pretty boy in Hogwarts, but she loved that he had grown in the war. There were many that hid away, or fled, but he came back from pro-quidditch to fight. His face showed some of the damage that had been inflicted, but in Ginny's opinion it only added to his looks. From there she looked down as he rambled on about the team compositions and coaching styles. His button-up shirt clung tight to his chest, and skimmed over what she was sure were abs highly toned from his quidditch and war years. She didn't stop there and grinned to herself as Oliver turned to grab papers off his desk and Ginny took full opportunity to ogle how his denims clung to his hips. They weren't tight, but they showed off his ass and thighs amazingly.

Oliver turned from his desk to see Ginny's eyes linger for a moment on his crotch before darting back to his face. He smirked at her before handing her the roaster he had grabbed, along with her coaching paperwork. "Now your first team meeting should be held next week and there is a coaches meeting on Friday evening. We're going to go to Abe's place in town, so dress appropriately." Ginny nodded and stood from the couch.

"What time?"

"I'm going to head down at 8. You should meet me here, and we'll walk down together. I've already gotten Dumbledore's permission, so you don't need to worry about that." Ginny nodded and headed to the door. "Oh and Ginny, I wanted to talk to you about something after dinner tonight. Would you mind swinging by here?"

"Um…" Oliver wasn't sure he had ever seen Ginny blush. "Sure, I'll swing by after dinner." Oliver nodded and held the door open for her.

"Have a good dinner Ginny."

Ginny wandered her way to the library to find Hermione. She needed a girl to dish too, though she knew Hermione didn't much care about quidditch. Hell that was putting it lightly, Hermione didn't give a damn about quidditch, but she would at least listen… well hopefully.

Ginny approached the library and laughed as Jazz came running down the hall on his short little legs. He jumped as he approached her bouncing off of a chair and leaping to her chest. Ginny cradled him to her confused at his actions until she heard a rather loud yowl. Ginny laughed as Mrs. Norris rounded the corner at her best speed, which at this point in her life was a fast hobble at best. The old gangly cat stopped short seeing Ginny holding Jazz. Jazz seemed to smirk at her as he wiggled his little cat body closer into her chest.

Ginny laughed at his actions, continuing on her way into the library to find Hermione. She was buried there, beneath a pile of dusty tombs. Ginny could just see the top of her head and was startled when she suddenly jumped in the air with her hand over her head. "YES!" Ginny gripped Jazz tighter as she stumbled confused by Hermione's outburst.

"What exactly are you so excited about?" Hermione's head snapped up at Ginny's comment.

"Oh… oh… nothing… I… it's just… there's… oh… um… nothing?" Ginny laughed at Hermione's sputtering.

"The great Hermione Granger doesn't know what to say. Well I'll be darned, someone get a camera." Hermione glared at Ginny's show of slight insolence towards the Head Girl.

"I'll have you know that…" Ginny laughed even louder drawing a rather loud "SHUT UP!" from one of the tables down the row.

"Its fine Hermione, I don't need to know." Ginny lifted one of the piles of books off table and perched on the side catching a quick glimpse at the red shiny new book that Hermione was reading as she snatched it and shoved it in her bag.

"So… what brings you to the library? Not that I'm not happy to see you here, but…" Hermione leaned in real close to Ginny "… you know there are only books here?" Ginny glared at Hermione wishing she had something to throw at her, but she didn't think Jazz would appreciate it.

"I have some news, and I wanted to talk to you about it before Ron and Harry find out." Hermione waved for her to go on, sinking closer so as to not be overheard. "I didn't make any of the teams." Hermione's face turned to one of outrage, but before she could say anything Ginny went on. "I'm going to be a coach." Hermione looked a bit confused before breaking out into a shining grin.

"That is _amazing _Ginny… wait that is amazing right?" Ginny nodded quickly, smiling at Hermione's hushed excitement. "Do you know who's on your team?" Ginny nodded.

"Yup, but we're waiting to let everyone know which team gets which coach until next week at the first practices. But we have a coaches meeting on Friday. Speaking of I may need your help getting ready. We're going to The Leaky Cauldron for our meeting and I don't want to look like a kid, especially since my brother won't be helping much. I'm sure he's just waiting to talk about his little kid sister." Hermione frowned at that.

"Ginny. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you haven't been a kid since your 5th year. You're an adult, heck you're in your 7th year, you're going to be 18 soon. You've been an adult for months, and trust me, after what you did for us, for _all _of us during the final battle; no one would question your authority." Ginny nodded.

"I know. I just have to get over it. I guess Oliver just intimidates me." Hermione laughed.

"Is it the fact that he's hot, or the fact that he's a quidditch god?" Ginny smiled and nodded.

"Yup"

...

Ginny had left Hermione alone to finish her studying, while she went off to catch a nap, promising to come back before dinner. It was only after Hermione was sure that she was gone that she slid the red book out of her bag again. It was her journal, but not just any journal, it was her notes. She had been trying algorithm after algorithm trying to find an answer, and finally after 8 months of trying she had finally had a breakthrough.

It was only a start, and she knew that in order to fix anything she was going to need a whole hell of a lot more help. It was help she couldn't find from a friend though; she was going to have to ask the one person she dreaded even speaking to… Snape.

She would never admit it to anyone else, but getting him to the castle hadn't been nearly as easy as she told everyone the day of the battle. In fact a combination of her quick thinking and Ginny's shockingly good battle ability got him there in one piece. That was how she knew all that Ginny did in the war. Everyone else seemed to forget that she saved dozens of people that day. Hermione had found Snape bleeding and unconscious on the floor of the Shrieking Shack as she led a team up through Hogsmead to rally the villagers to help attack the rear. He was so still she thought he was already gone, but luckily for him she checked. Most would've snarled at his body, given it a kick for good measure, and left him there to rot.

She had put a stasis charm on him as soon as she felt his pulse. An urge to save him jolted through her. She levitated him through the underground passage that led to the Whomping Willow. Once she was out she knew the risks were high, but she had to try. She cast a weightless charm on him and carried him the rest of the way, if he was simply floating there it was likely that he would be hit by a hex or worse.

She hit the grass at a run, Snape weighing no more than a few pounds in her arms. She dove for the ground to avoid a hex, before jumping up and running again. It was then that Ginny saved both of their lives. Hermione leapt over body after body, trying to ignore the friends she saw lying among the fallen enemies. It hurt, but she pushed forward. In her blind rush to get him to safety she was shocked when she was grabbed by her collar as a familiar voice screamed 'PROTEGO'. An explosion of color erupted around the clear barrier as she whipped her head around to see Ginny behind her. She took one look at Snape in Hermione's arms and pushed her forwards telling her she would cover her. They ran together until they hit hidden door that lead down to the dungeons. She had hit a bit of luck there as they hadn't yet discovered this passage. The last she saw of the battle was Ginny shoving her in the door and bricking up the wall behind her. She didn't know what had happened to Ginny after that, but she had made it to the castle.

The dungeons were eerily silent compared to the raging battle ground. She had moved as soundlessly as possible, praying to Merlin that she make it there without injury. She was almost there, steps away from his lab. The screams that erupted from the end of the hall made her cringe. She knew those screams, she had heard them frequently, but normally they were much happier. She paused, looking between Snape in her arms and the end of the hallway. The screams stopped, only to be followed by whimper pleas for mercy. Hermione had to make a decision and fast. With a deep breath she opened the door to Snape's lab. She set him on a table ran to the store room and started searching. If she hurried she just might be able to save them both. She threw bottles to the floor regardless of how rare they were. It took her 30 agonizing seconds to find the boazer, and another 30 to get it down his reluctant throat. She hoped that would be enough, and sprinted towards her next mission.

The screaming was deafening, and cut off suddenly just as she rounded the corner. She looked down to see Colin Creevy standing over Lavenders lifeless body. She stood there in shock, not knowing what to do with this unexpected thing. Colin made that decision for her though. He turned and she could see his wand twitching towards her. It was the 6th time she cast the killing curse that day.

"Hermione…"

"Hermione!"

"HERMIONE!" Hermione was snapped out of her memories by Ginny's shout. "We're going to be late for dinner." Hermione shook her head before smiling up at Ginny.

"Sorry don't know where I went there"

"It's ok… it happens to me too."

With that they both stood and left for the Great Hall.

...

The entirety of the Great Hall went silent as Ginny and Hermione entered. They looked around a bit confused, but headed to their seats. It was as if the whole room was going to erupt any second, the calm before the storm.

Harry and Ron where looking at Ginny like she was a dementor. "What? Did someone die?" Harry and Ron looked at each other, having a silent conversation before Harry nodded.

"Ginny, you haven't seen the quidditch list yet have you?" Ginny started laughing, which made the whole hall cringe. "What's so funny?"

"Don't worry, I've seen the list." Ginny hid her smirk. "I'll be fine guys really." Hermione gave Ginny an odd look, but didn't say anything. She assumed Ginny knew what she was doing, so she piled her plate with food and dug in.

Everyone had started their dessert, when Dumbledore's booming voice rang over the hall. "I hate to interrupt your dinner two nights in a row, but I felt we should make an important announcement." Dumbledore gestured towards the side door and in walked George and Angelina. "I know that we are all… well most of us" Dumbledore chanced a wink towards Hermione. "are excited for quidditch to start up again. Now that we know the teams Oliver and I thought we would introduce the coaches. Each team will have a different coach, who along with the captains will help their own team to rise to victory. There will be four teams, and each will find out who their coaches are next week. The choices are Oliver Wood, George Weasley, Angelina Johnson, and Ginny Weasley." Ginny smiled as every eye in the hall turned towards her. "Thank you for your time everyone, and enjoy your evening!" Dumbledore knew the can of worms he had just opened, and he had to admit, he kind of liked it. Soon the whole school would be talking, and he loved turning these kids into kids again. They had grown up to fast for his liking, and even dead he knew that what they really needed was fun and a bit of juicy gossip.

Ginny was bombarded with questions the moment she left the great hall. She simply smiled and laughed through all of it, offering no real information to anyone. It was almost an hour later when Ron's incessant questioning about why Oliver had picked her and not him to be the fourth coach was beginning to rag on her nerves. She slammed her hands roughly down on the couch of the Gryffindor common room and stood glaring over her brother. "Ronald if you had one iota of care inside that insipid body of yours you would stop and be happy for me!" She turned towards the door to escape from him. "You know Ron, not everything has to do with you. Oh, and you wouldn't want to coach Ron, because that also means that you can't play." With Ron's face red as can be, Ginny exited the common room. She was furious with him. He couldn't just stop thinking about himself and his stupid pro-quidditch dreams long enough to be happy for his baby sister.

Ginny found herself on the quidditch pitch, and sat down cross-legged in the center. It was only September 4th, so the sun was just barely hitting the tree line. She let a few angered tears leak from her eyes, as silent memories of dodging the burning stands assaulted her. It had been about half way through the battle, and she had woven her way through a lot of carnage so far. The Pitch had been set on fire earlier, and as such it was slowly falling away crushing many beneath it. Ginny had seen a sight that she would never forget, Luna, huddled in a recess in the wood shaking beyond belief. She had blood pouring down her face, and her leg looked severely broken. Ginny leapt over burning pillars and bodies to get to Luna, her focus only on getting to the blonde. That was when she received one of her many scars. It was a blow she didn't see coming, she was hit from the side. Her body thrown into the only remaining wall as blood started dripping down her side. _"mmmm look at the little blood traitor leaking all over. You're traitorous blood will be completely spilled by the time I'm through with you." _Ginny had taken advantage of Mr. Goyle's monolog and managed to grab the knife she had stashed in her boot. It was a long dagger with a short hilt, perfect for hiding in plain sight. She quickly thrust the blade upwards through his ribcage and into his heart. It was her first non magical kill of the night, but it wasn't her last. She pulled the blade from him as he fell to the side and then went to help Luna.

"Ginny?" Oliver tore Ginny out of her memory as he approached. "Are you okay?"

Wiping her tears away Ginny twisted around to see Oliver standing behind her. "I'm fine, just remembering something." It wasn't uncommon still for people to breakdown crying randomly in certain parts of the castle. Memories assaulted everyone as they went through the days, bringing back terrible memories for many of them.

"It's strange isn't it? Being back here after all that we went through here during the battle." Oliver walked over to where Ginny was and sat mirroring her position so he could look her in the face. "It's okay you know… to remember." Ginny gave him a look of exasperation.

"I know Oliver. This place just brings up a lot. I killed a lot of people that night." Ginny looked down fidgeting as Oliver's eyes snapped to her face, his hand reaching out to touch her knee.

"Yeah, we all killed more than our fair share." Ginny nodded. "Ginny I need to ask you about your cat."

"What about him? Is he yours?" Oliver looked thoughtful.

"Well… no he isn't mine per say, I was just wondering where you found him?"

"He found me actually. I was running down the hall one day and tripped over him. He's been with me for the last two days." Ginny seemed to get more excited the more she talked about him. "I call him Jazz, he seems to like it." Oliver smiled at her.

"He would wouldn't he" Oliver muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, I was just saying that it's a great name. Has he been giving you any trouble?" Oliver's hand still hadn't moved from Ginny's knee, and his absent stroking was causing her to slowly become more and more distracted.

"What? Oh, no… he's a little stubborn sometimes, but all in all he's a sweetheart. He even looks away when I'm changing." Oliver's deep laugh was quiet, but infections. It wasn't long before Ginny started laughing along with him. She clasped his arm as she leaned forward, her chest heaving as she tried to breath around her laughter. It was then that Oliver got distracted. Ginny's hand on his bicep drew his eyes down its length to her chest. God, he felt like such a randy teenager again, he had never ogled a girl this obviously before. For some reason he just couldn't pull his eyes away from her. It was when Ginny looked up at him that it happened. A bright flash brought them out of their moment. A shrill scream caused both of them to snap their heads to the side. They looked at each other in silent agreement then started sprinting towards the sound.

Oliver's mind was focused on the task, however he couldn't help but notice Ginny's form as she sprinted out of the stands, her hair flying behind her as her long legs strode forward. "I think it's coming from the greenhouses!" Ginny's voice snapped Oliver out of his silent observations and caused him to look towards the repeated flashes. It seemed almost like a muggle flash was going off repeatedly.

Ginny skidded to a halt behind Greenhouse Four, peaking around its edge to see the chaos that seemed to be occurring behind the fogged glass of Greenhouse Three. Oliver's hand met her back as he too looked towards the effected Greenhouse. "I'll circle around the front and see what's going on, you just wait here." Ginny nearly laughed out loud at Oliver's solution.

"I tell you what, how about you circle around the front and I'll get a better look." Oliver looked at Ginny questioningly as she stood with her eyes closed and her hand held high in the air. Oliver was about to ask her what she was doing when something nearly clipped his ear before settling in her open palm. It was her broom. Her new Fire-sweep that she had saved up for over the last few years had a nice weight to it that allowed her to dip, dive and control her flight quite easily. Ginny swept herself onto her broom, hovering at Oliver's chest level. Ginny smiled at Oliver then before shooting over Greenhouse Four to slowly descend onto the roof of Greenhouse Three.

Ginny could barely see through the glass, as there seemed to be a shimmery substance mucking up the other side. She quickly twisted her hair into a bun securing it with her wand before flipping herself upside down and trying to get as close to the glass as possible. She squinted through not quite believing what she was seeing, as a quiet white hot rage brewed within her chest. She saw Oliver inch the door open and enter cautiously, however no matter how careful he was she knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid the chaos within the Greenhouse. She couldn't help but chuckle as he went diving under a table in order to avoid the bouncing balls that flurried around his movement eventually exploding in a grand cacophony of light, color and sound. Her smile soon disappeared however as she noticed the source of the earlier scream. Huddled in the middle of the room covered in a thin layer of glitter was a small girl, no older than 12. She was curled into the tightest ball she could shaking with fear.

This 'trick' was nothing new to Ginny, as she had often taken weeks to wash all of the glitter from her hair. Fred had come up with it after her father had brought home a bouncy ball from the Muggle Understanding and Interaction department at the ministries. They had also been digging through Ginny's Halloween makeup charms and discovered glitter. Oh how she rued the day the twins discovered glitter.

This however was a step too far for George. The poor girl in the middle of the Greenhouse looked to be scared out of her wits and crying. Ginny's attention returned to the scene below her, noticing Oliver still stuck under the table, looking up towards the ceiling as if it would explode any moment. Heaving a sigh and burying her rage deep below the surface as she had learned to do before she flew quickly over the Greenhouse roof hatch. A quick wandless "alohamora" and the latch popped open allowing her to flip off her broom and into the room.

From Oliver's point of view all he saw was Ginny's body falling from the ceiling and landing powerfully in a low crouch surrounded by exploding balls of glitter. Her hand pulled her wand from her hair, the red curls falling down her back as she pointed to the tallest point of the Greenhouse and mumbled some unintelligible words. A dark purple light exploded from the tip of her wand, expanding to cover the entire roof of the Greenhouse in seconds. The purple slowly flaked away and dissipated, floating towards the ground, but disintegrating before it hit the two inches of glitter that covered the floor like snow. Oliver watched as Ginny stowed her wand in her hidden pocket and slowly approached the girl.

Ginny kneeled, placing her hand gently on the small girls shoulder only to have her flinch away. "It's alright, you're safe, it's all over." Ginny's whispered words caused the girl to look up shyly through her hair. With one look at Ginny she threw her arms around her neck and clung to the older girl. Ginny could see the green crest of Slytherin under the layer of glitter on the girls robes. Oh how the world has changed thought Ginny. This time last year she would be expecting a trap, but for now she wrapped her arms around the small scared girl and combed her fingers through the girl's hair ridding it of some of the excessive glitter. Oliver walked over to them and watched as Ginny lifted the girl as if she weighed less than a feather.

"Here Ginny let me take her, I'll bring her up to Madam Pomfrey for a calming drought." Ginny began to nodded, but the girl clung tighter to Ginny's neck.

"Hey, what's your name hunny?" Ginny gestured with her eyes for Oliver to open the doors for her.

"M-M-Mary, what's your name?"

"My name's Ginny, and this quiet bloke over here is Oliver." Mary's eyes flicked up to meet Oliver's before going back to Ginny's.

"He looks kinda scary." Mary's attempt at a whisper did not escape Oliver's hearing, but Ginny's response to her made up for the unfiltered honesty of a 12 year old.

"Can I tell you a secret about Oliver Mary?" The young girl nodded and bent her head even closer to Ginny's face. "He can look kinda scary when you see him on the ground, but when he flies his face lights up like a patronus, making you remember all the happy thoughts that you have." Ginny leaned in even closer then "plus… I think he's kinda cute.". This made Mary giggle as she looked up at Oliver. The laughter in her eyes wiping away the lingering fear that she felt.

Madam Pomfrey hovered over Mary for a good ten minutes listening to her regale the story of the glitter bombs and her brave rescuer before ushering her off to her Slytherin dorms with cup of tea spiked with calming drought. She then entrusted Oliver with the task of seeing Ginny back to her dorms lest a certain Potions Master catch her out and about so late in the evening.

It wasn't a particularly long walk back to Gryffindor tower, and Oliver couldn't help but stare at Ginny the entire way. She was covered from head to toe in a thin sheet of glitter, her hair sparkling with every torch they passed. He was so caught up in his reverie that he forgot who he was for a moment, and thus when he heard the telltale tapping of Snape's shiny black boots he quickly grabbed Ginny and through her into the nearest alcove, covering her mouth with his hand when she began to protest.

Ginny smirked behind Oliver's palm, pressing her back against his front. She figured if she was going to be in this position she might as well take advantage of it. She molded herself to him, pressing them both back deep into the corner of the alcove as she heard Snape grow closer. She could almost feel Snape pause in the hallway, and imagine his sharp eyes scanning the hallway. Ginny jumped when a door just next to their alcove slammed open, the impact of the door hitting the wall caused Ginny to flinch back even farther, pressing into Oliver. It was then that she noticed Oliver's mumbling very lowly in her ear. Ginny shifted her head slightly, tipping her head back on his shoulder so his mouth was closer to her ear. She heard him lowly muttering "Mrs. Weasley naked… Dumbledore having sex… Hagrid in a speedo" it took everything Ginny had in her not to laugh out loud at his quite obvious attempt to quell his body's reaction.

They listened as Snape began to reprimand those within the room, Lavender ran scampering away a few seconds later, followed by a very disheveled looking Seamus. Ginny shook her head, at the two, and waited to emerge from her and Oliver's hiding spot until the sound of Snape's boots faded into nothing.

"You do realize the whole reason Madam Pomfrey asked you to accompany me is due to the fact that you are a professor right?" Ginny's mocking tone made Oliver blush slightly.

"I suppose old habits die hard" Oliver's deep chuckle separated his words slightly as they continued heading towards Gryffindor tower.

Oliver stopped just out of view of the fat lady. "I should let you get some sleep and head back to my room." Ginny smiled up at him and nodded her head.

"Very true, I could use some rest, but I still need to clean up after that fiasco. I don't think I'll ever be able to get all this glitter out of my hair." Oliver's smile grew as he looked down at Ginny pouting while fingering a curl of her now very sparkly hair.

"I'll see you in the morning Ginny, and don't forget about Friday."

A.N. Tada! One more chapter down… let me know what you think peoples!

A.N. Ok… this story might take a decade to write, but it will be written if I have to milk it from my very brain.

3 Fee


End file.
